by Diana Tobin
“No big deal. We’re both washable.” She couldn’t believe she was sitting in JC’s lap. The hard muscle of his thighs beneath her, the solid wall of his chest behind her, and his big arms wrapped securely around her, making her feel more feminine and protected than ever before. He was treating her like they were friends. Very good friends.
“What should I do?” asked Ethan.
“Make sure his emergency brake is off. I forgot to check when I helped him into the car.” JC grinned at his friend.
Ethan grinned back and went to the passenger door. It opened easily and Ethan leaned in to release the brake, his elbow accidently jamming into Donny’s nose. “Careful,” he cautioned. He closed the door and signed to JC they were good to go.
“Can you see around me?” Lynn asked as JC maneuvered the tractor to the front of the Porsche.
“You fit me just fine, sweetpea,” he murmured. “I like your haircut. Put your hands here. We’ll do this together.” He placed his hands over hers, keeping his touch light but steady.
There was a firmness against her bottom, and she fought not to wiggle. No sense in them both being distracted. His warm breath on her bare neck was a definite distraction.
JC lowered the large bucket on the front of the tractor and she wondered if he was going to scoop up the small car and carry it away. Instead, he moved the car over so he could get to the front of the vehicle. There were now a few not so shiny dents in the side. With the tractor, and bucket, facing the car JC drove forward pushing Donny and his Porsche down the driveway and out to the road.
“Push this lever.” JC guided her hand from the wheel and helped her move the lever indicated. The bucket rose up taking the Porsche with it. “That’s good.” Car and tractor went up the road a few yards. “Okay, bring it back down,” he instructed.
Lynn moved the lever too fast. The bucket hit the road and the car bounced a bit as the front end came back down. “Uh-oh. I think his nose is bleeding.”
“Sounded to me like he had a sinus problem.” JC backed the tractor down the road, then going forward, passed the car until he could get behind it. The bucket made contact again, leaving bits of dirt and debris to mingle with the scratches and dents. “He could probably use a swim, but I don’t want to pollute the lake.” Slowly, they made their way down the road toward town. “Lynn, is he someone you want?”
Lynn shuddered at the very thought and pressed into the warm solid strength behind her. “Oh, hell no!”
“Who is he?” JC had a pretty good idea, but needed her to tell him for sure.
“I’m ashamed to admit it. He’s my ex-fiancé.”
“Nothing for you to be ashamed of. He’s a doofus for letting you go.” No way would JC admit he knew what the idiot had done to her. “I figured it was over between the two of you when I saw you beat the shit out of him, but I had to make sure.” He nuzzled the side of her neck, his breath hot in her ear. “Yeah, I really like your hair short.”
“It was over long before today.” Goosebumps trailed down her arms. “I was a fool. He…I—I…”
“You don’t have to talk about it, honey. Just know I’ll listen if you ever want to.” He pressed soft kisses beneath her ear and made a sound in his throat like he was savoring a tasty bite. “Let’s be done with this idiot. Then, you and I need to talk.”
“What are you going to do?” she could barely get the words out.
JC stopped the tractor, backed up a bit, lifted the bucket up to the height of the car’s trunk. Then he moved forward at a slight angle as they approached a crossroad. As the tractor went forward, the car headed to the side of the road and the shallow ditch before it tipped in.
Quickly, he backed up, then used the crossroad to turn them around and head back the way they’d come. Lynn glanced over her shoulder to see a large dent in the back of Donny’s prized Porsche.
“You drive baby, while I call in the accident.” He placed one arm around her waist as he leaned forward and up a bit to get his phone out of his back pocket. Once he had his cell in hand, he snugged her back against him. “Go to my place, honey. I’ve got a proposition for you.”
“I’m not getting under the bleachers with you, JC.” The firmness under her bottom suddenly leaped.
It sounded like he groaned. “I’m not that same dumbass kid. I want to discuss business. Yeah, this is JC Benjamin,” he said into the phone. “I just passed a car in the ditch along Town Road. Looks like the driver tangled with a moose. I offered to help, but the guy started cussin’ at me so figured I’d call it in and go home. Yep.”
“Why did you lie?”
“If I had come along and found a car in a ditch, I’d check on the driver and passengers. I know numb nuts is gonna be okay. That is, as long as he stays away from you.”
Lynn knew she should feel bad about hurting Donny, about leaving him and his dented car in a ditch. But he hadn’t cared a bit about hurting her, using her, stomping all over her to get what he wanted. He wasn’t dying and his injuries would heal quickly. Much faster than the damage done to her self-esteem and heart.
Although, seeing how quickly her family and JC had sided with her, did a lot to soothe the old pain. And, JC didn’t know anything about Donny, other than what she’d told him; definitely someone she didn’t want to see.
JC loosely wrapped his arms around her middle and put his lips close to her ear. “You’re thinking too hard, sweetpea. Relax and enjoy the ride.”
Lynn pulled in a deep breath. Best advice she’d heard all day.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
JC couldn’t say what had come over him. He’d seen the expensive car in the Reigh’s driveway, saw Lynn swinging that stick at some guy, and had a gut instinct it was the asshole who’d used and betrayed her. He wanted nothing more than to pummel the jerk into the ground, but from the looks of it, Lynn had done a pretty good job of that on her own.
Damn, he was proud of her.
Which made no sense at all. They were barely friends. Okay, he’d kissed her the night of her mother’s wedding and that one kiss had haunted him ever since. Had it really been as good as he remembered? Or, did he remember it being that good because it had been so long since he’d kissed someone?
He hadn’t become a monk after his divorce, but he was careful who he had sex with. He never chose anyone local, and especially not anyone looking for permanence. He’d met a woman in Portland one weekend. Polished, climbing the corporate ladder, being a wife and mother the last thing on her list. But she had no problem with hot steamy sex with no commitments.
For JC, he liked the idea of knowing he could hook up with her when he had the need and time. Seldom did he spend the night, preferring to indulge his appetite and using the middle of the night drive home to get his mind back to business. He’d learned to call ahead before making the trip down to Portland when he’d shown up at her door to find her entertaining another man.
Being the generous woman she was, she’d invited him in. JC declined. He didn’t care that she spent time with others, he just wasn’t into being part of a three-some. He liked his sex one-on-one and private.
He hadn’t been to Portland since long before Nettie’s wedding. He told himself the reason was being busy with summer work, but he knew he couldn’t get it on with one woman while thinking of another. That had been part of the problem with his marriage.
His wife, Suzanne, had been very much like his mother. Either he was as dumb as his old man or tried to correct an old wrong. But unlike his mother, Suzanne hadn’t just walked out—she’d demanded money for his freedom.
JC admitted to being a fool. Suzanne had led him around by his dick until she’d had a ring on her finger. Once they were married, she’d only have sex when she wanted something. There had been times, toward the end of their marriage, when Lynn’s teenaged face had popped into his mind while his wife lay beneath him. At the time, he’d thought it was because Lynn was so much like his wife and one of the few girls he hadn’t been able to “date”
back in high school.
Now, he was pretty sure Lynn was nothing like his ex-wife. Instead, she’d been played for a fool—just as he had.
He tightened his hold on the woman in his lap. The memory of her pressing her wet cool body to his on Memorial Day heated his blood. By the time she’d climbed off him he had two distinct wet circles on the front of his tee shirt. He’d give just about anything to have her pressed to him again without any fabric between them. Despite how quickly she’d moved away from him, he’d seen the peaked nipples under her shirt and bra, and he’d had to sit up to hide his own reaction to the sight.
She was a sweet little bundle. He didn’t know how the thin little straps of her sundress could hold up the front of her dress and he toyed with the idea of using his teeth to slip a strap off her shoulder. He pressed his mouth to the spot where her neck met her shoulder and inhaled the fragrance of lilacs. Then, he nuzzled the strap, sliding it toward the slope of her shoulder.
Oh, yeah! Her breasts lifted and fell with her rapid breaths, just as they’d done all those years ago. But, back then, her lovely skin had been covered up. Turning his attention to the other strap he felt a shiver run through her. “Cold?” he whispered. With great pleasure he’d protect her modesty by covering those luscious globes with the palms of his large hands. As the strap slid down her arm and he anticipated her dress falling to her waist, her spine stiffened and her heels kicked his shins.
“JC. What the hell do you think you’re doing?” She pulled both straps up and folded her arms under her breasts.
He groaned as heaven slipped away and realized they were stopped in the middle of the road. “Dammit to hell!” She’d just had a run-in with the creep who’d made her life miserable and he was indulging in his fantasies. “Sorry. Don’t know where my head was.”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea which head was doing the thinking,” she retorted. He bit back another groan, knowing she was right. “I’ll get off here and walk back to Micki’s.”
He wrapped his arms firmly around her waist to stop her slide off his lap. “No. I’m sorry.” He blew out his breath. “I have a favor to ask of you, but you need to see the set up before you decide. That’s why I want you to come out to the farm.” She’d stopped trying to get away, but remained stiff as a board. “Please.”
“Fine,” she agreed. “But I don’t need to sit on your lap.” She looked around the tractor. “Surely there is someplace else I can sit, or stand behind your seat.”
He was shaking his head before she finished speaking. “No. I won’t chance you getting hurt. You’ll stay right here.” He took over the controls, moving them up the road.
Soon, they were at his driveway where a small wooden building sat. Most of the front was covered by a large board and a door sat at the end, facing the drive. Opposite the building was a gravel and dirt area that could be a small parking lot.
“You have a road side stand?”
“Yeah.” JC stopped the tractor and turned off the engine. He nudged her to her feet, jumped to the ground, then turned around and lifted her to stand before him. “The berry bushes are down that way.” He indicated the dirt track running behind the building. “I put out some veggies as they come on. Fall is pretty good with the pumpkins.”
“Okay,” she said hesitantly. It was obvious she wondered what that had to do with her.
“I was wondering…that is, hoping you’d run the stand for me.”
“Who does it now?” Lynn opened the door, taking a peek at the dim interior.
“No one,” he said. “It’s the honor system. I put out boxes for the berry pickers.” At her frown, he added, “It’s self-pick berries. I put the veggies out here, list the prices, and put a locked box on the counter hoping people will leave the right amount and not take off with the box.”
“You’re kidding, right?” She’d spent the past eight years in a big city where you couldn’t always trust your neighbor. She hadn’t even been able to trust her roommate and her fiancé. “I’d like to help you JC, but I have a job.”
“I know you open the coffee shop early, but your niece and that summer gal are there, too. Right?” He waited for her nod of agreement. “You could come out when you get a chance. I figure I’ve got a better chance of actually seeing some money for my crops if you’re here. You could sell your cookies out here, if you want. Or, work on your crafts. Your mom was telling me how all you girls got together for some craft day and you were thinking of doing it professionally.”
“Sounds like you spend more time with my mother than I do.”
He tucked his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, pulling the worn denim tight across his pelvis. “I rent a pasture from Nettie. Plus, I tilled up an area so she and Wil could have a little garden. I got into the habit of keeping an eye on things for her.”
“I thought you had a big farm, JC. Why do you need my mother’s pasture, too? Just your way of helping out a neighbor?”
He pressed his lips together in a flat line. “I had to sell a chunk of land to pay off my wife. Ex-wife,” he emphasized.
Lynn’s eyes widened, then she grinned. “Couldn’t find a good hockey stick, huh?”
JC threw his head back and laughed, the sound rolling over her. “Much as the idea appeals, I would never stoop to hitting a woman.”
“Is that your way of telling me I shouldn’t have hit Donald?”
“Hell, no. I’m sure he deserved exactly what he got. Besides, if he hadn’t already been cradling his balls I’d have twisted them off for what he called you.”
Shock had her mouth dropping open. “Well, aren’t you just a knight in shining denim on your big green tractor.”
He stepped closer, smoothing down her wind tousled hair. “Listen, sprite, some men just need the shit beat out of them.”
Lynn blinked. “Sprite?”
“Yeah. You know… like the little fairy with the blonde hair and…” He moved his hands to indicate an hour glass shape. “You’ve got the figure, the hair cut, and a bit of temper when crossed.”
“That’s not temper, that’s attitude,” she said, secretly pleased with his description. She walked around the stand, examining it from all sides. “Did your wife run the stand for you?”
This time his laugh was bitter. “No way. Anything to do with the farm was beneath Suzanne.”
Clasping her hands behind her back she tilted her head to look up at JC. “Suzanne? Not Susie or Annie?” When he muttered a “never” Lynn decided the woman sounded way too snobby for her liking. “What kind of berries?”
“Raspberries and blueberries. Help yourself to any you want. I don’t have time to pick them, that’s why the fields are ‘you pick’.” He stared over her shoulder with a faraway look. “My grandma used to make jam.” He licked his lips as if still tasting the treat, then blinked her back into focus. “Different bushes now, of course.”
“Your mom didn’t make jam?”
Those full lips flattened again. “Shows what a dumbass I am. I married a woman just like my mother.” He took off his cap and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it. “Let me put the tractor up and I’ll drive you home. Think about the stand, and let me know what you decide.”
JC’s expression had been so bleak her heart hurt for him. Sounded like they might have more in common than expected. She caught up to him as he climbed up to the seat of the tractor. “Can I drive it? I’m a bit of an expert now.” Lynn grinned up at him.
He jumped down and lifted her up to the seat. She had to sit on the edge to see over the front end. “Sure you can handle it alone?”
She stared at him, then stood up. “Maybe you should ride with me. Just to be sure I don’t run over something important.”
Slowly, his grin spread across his face as he climbed up behind her. “Good idea,” he said as he pulled her into the safety of his arms.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
She worked out a schedule with her mother. Lynn continued to open Moose-ley Coffee ea
ch morning. Once one of the others arrived, Lynn would head out for JC’s farm. He’d told her to set things up however she wanted and to spend only the amount of time she thought necessary and could afford. He knew her real income came from working for her mother; he could only hope there was some profit to share with Lynn.
JC’s road side stand was filthy. Obviously, it had been years since anyone had cared how the small building looked. It was sturdy and roomy enough inside for two people and allow for displays. But, first, she needed to be able to draw in customers.
Wil had gone with her to buy paint. He’d offered to do the work for her, but she pointed out she was capable, felt it fell under her duties, and he had his own business to run. Armed with the necessary equipment, she’d dressed in an old pair of jeans and a tee shirt she’d found in a closet at her mother’s.
She started on the outside of the stand with a bright blue, the color of the sky in mid-summer. Lynn wanted something that would stand out from the surrounding green. The inside and trim would be a blinding white. Since she’d forgotten a ladder, and didn’t want to poke around in JC’s barn, she was thankful Wil had loaned her a long-handled roller.
The wood soaked up the paint, and Lynn knew she’d have to add another coat. She took a break long enough to eat the snack she’d brought and opened another bottle of water.
By the time dusk was falling, she was gathering her tools. She planned to head up to the farm house to look for a hose to clean her brushes and pans. She ached from head to toe, but seeing how the stand stood out in the encroaching darkness filled her with a sense of pride. She needed to add a few more touches before the project was complete. No one would drive by and ignore it now.
Lynn heard a motor, then headlights flashed over her as a truck and trailer pulled into the drive. JC stopped the truck and stared at her through the open passenger window. Exhaustion lined his face.